


family movie night

by potidaea



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley (Background), F/F, Gen, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potidaea/pseuds/potidaea
Summary: Debbie Wesley breaks the ice after twin-gate and Sterling tests the coming out waters.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley, Blair Wesley & Sterling Wesley
Comments: 7
Kudos: 207





	family movie night

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @ [ki1yun](https://twitter.com/ki1yun)

A sigh accented the quiet  _ clink _ of forks against plates. “They’ve been up there for days now.”

“I know, hon,” Anderson Wesley’s hand reached out to comfort his wife. “They just need time.”

With a much-needed sip of wine, Debbie padded into the kitchen to go fix her girls some dinner.

Sterling had been locked in her room blasting her own painstakingly cultivated playlist of the 2010s’ most depressing hits between a marathon of the sappiest lesbian movies she could find (on Blair’s log-in, obviously) for the past two days; every day, in fact, since the Culpepper Family Reunion. Well, Sterling couldn’t blame her pity party entirely on her mom - or,  _ not-mom...whatever _ \- it started with one Miss April Stevens. Hence, her dedication to the Sapphic Cinematic Universe. 

Usually, when she blasted her  _ frowny face emoji  _ playlist, Blair would burst through the door with a swift tackle but if the sounds of thick distortion pounding through the walls of their shared bathroom were anything to go by, the brunette was coping with the heaviest of metals. The breakup with Miles hit her hard and Sterling couldn’t blame her. She certainly knew a thing or two about being kept hidden. 

Frozen on the Fellowship Leader’s laptop was the opening scene of  _ The Miseducation of Cameron Post _ . She couldn’t bear to watch the two girls pressed together in the backseat, hooking up in the school parking lot, not at all unlike she and April were doing last week. So, her music was blasting again and her not-mom was yelling up the stairs, “Girls! Volume!”

Blair turned hers up. 

For a second Sterling contemplated doing the same, even restarting the song, so blackbear’s  _ fuck you, and you, and you  _ would resonate throughout the house, but she was never much of a rulebreaker. Well, except for the bounty hunting and premarital sex and maybe-lesbianism. But those rules were dumb and not worth following in the first place. It’s not like the Bible says “Thou shalt not hunt skips.” It  _ does  _ say a lot about not committing sins; if anything bounty hunting was Christ-like. 

As the blonde teen toggled the volume down on her brightly colored Bluetooth speaker from her new iPhone, a soft knock sounded at the door.

“Sterling? I brought you some dinner,” came a trepidatious voice through a small crack in the entryway.

“Thanks...mom,” she let the word settle on her tongue awkwardly as her laptop clicked shut.

“Grilled cheese, no crust. Extra butter, extra cheese.”

An offering of her favorite junk food perked Sterling right up. “Yes, please!”

The older blonde settled on the bed beside her daughter -  _ yes, daughter _ \- as the teen grabbed for the small plate. “How are you doin’, honey?” When Sterling, who seemed to be channeling her sister, gave a shrug in response, Debbie continued. “You can talk to me, ask me questions. About Dana. About anything you want. Okay?”

“Okay,” Sterling agreed between bites, quietly digging into her sandwich.

“Blair was gonna pick you up on Friday,” she inquired gently. “Did something happen?” At this, Sterling glanced up at the other woman, shooting her a look that a teenager can only direct at their mother.  _ Well, obviously.  _ “No, of course. I mean, at the Lock-In.”

Another shrug, this time with much less enthusiasm behind it.

Debbie Wesley hated this game. 

“Did something happen with Luke?” 

But she appeared to still be a good shot because tears were welling in Sterling’s eyes that had no business being there and her grilled cheese was abandoned on the comforter she just  _ needed _ at Ikea last year, and her head was buried against the same chest that reared her. 

It was like a switch had been flicked. Sterling wasn’t angry anymore; she was, in fact, more fragile than she could recall seeing her in years.

“Mom,” she hiccuped out through tears. “I’m so  _ stupid _ .”

As she rubbed circles on the young girl’s back, the mother spoke. “Oh, honey. Something about being in high school makes love hurt  _ so _ much, but I promise it’s not always going to be this way.”

Sterling pulled back after a long, contemplative moment. “What if it doesn’t change? What if it’s always like this? I just wanted to-to-” she shook her head, trailing off.

“Wanted to?” Debbie attempted to fish for the end of the teen’s sentence, images of shotgun weddings and teen pregnancy flashing through her head.

“Can you get Blair?” she croaked, voice thick with mucus and tears.

“Yeah, of course.” 

It was only a few brief steps and one loud  _ What?!  _ until Blair was at her side. Blair, who didn’t look to be faring much better wrapped in her comforter, gave a nod of  _ sup _ to her mother before walking forward to envelop Sterling in a hug.

Their voices muffled by the downy blanket, Blair apologized. “Sorry I wasn’t there. She’s a bitch.”

“No,” Sterling sniffled, “she’s not.” She knew it would be easier to hate April. To demonize her, to call her names, and hope she spent the rest of her life alone. But she couldn’t. April was right: it wasn’t safe for her to come out. Not to her parents, not at school, not as long as she was stuck in Georgia. Blair couldn’t understand how  _ terrifying _ it was, even Sterling couldn’t begin to grasp what April had been through for so many years alone. She just wished she didn’t have to be alone now; that neither of them did. 

Debbie hovered by the door, her question prompting the girls to exit their makeshift cocoon. “Do y’all need anything else?” 

“Um,” Sterling paused, glancing at Blair for approval in a brief moment of telepathy. “Do you want to watch a movie with us?”

She stepped forward with a grin. “What are we gonna watch, ladies?”

“Uh, it’s about one of those conversion camps. I’m sure I’ve brought it up before.” Blair interjected at Sterling’s anxious impression of a deer in headlights. Surely, her detailed resume of ruining family gatherings via political rant was enough of a cover.

So, there Debbie Wesley sat between her two daughters, sharing the last of a grilled cheese, and probably more questions than answers once their impromptu movie night was over. Sterling just hoped she survived it.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @ [ki1yun](https://twitter.com/ki1yun)


End file.
